A New Strength
by summerartist
Summary: While out in the Delphic Expanse the Enterprise comes into contact with an unusual ship and an extraordinary passenger. An Enterprise and Star Wars crossover (post Return of the Jedi)
1. Chapter 1

It was late in the night shift when something slightly out of the ordinary occurred. The bridge had a skeleton crew with mostly replacements at this hour, save the ensign Hoshi who was busy translating some of their newly acquired data with the tools at her station and T'Pol who was in the Captain's chair. The Vulcan sat poised, ready for her shift to end so that she could return to the wardroom and go over the recent maps of the region. There was fill-in crew at Reed's tactical station, a crewman who had suddenly stiffened. The man at tactical noticed a bright orange blip on his screen.

"Subcommander, there's an incoming vessel."

T'Pol sat up straighter in her seat.

"Xindi?" Her inquiry was perfectly calm.

The man seemed to hesitate before answering.

"It's...I can't identify it, Sir." He went on to describe its precise location and magnify the ship on the viewscreen. The Subcommander studied it. The vessel was unfamiliar to her at first glance, but they were in the Delphic Expanse. Many species out here were still unfamiliar to her people.

"Go to yellow alert."

Their systems started to blare in the quiet. T'Pol stood. She turned to Hoshi.

"Have they made contact?"

Hoshi had her fingers to her ear as she listened for any communication. She shook her head.

"Inform the Captain."

T'Pol was about to go to study the ship's data at the tactical screen when Hoshi interrupted.

"Subcommander, I'm getting something."

The Communications officer was frowning as she concentrated. She typed into her computer.

"I'm getting some sort of binary code. Stand by."

As she worked translating they all waited for her analysis. The crewmen on the bridge had all straightened at their stations, their glazed looks quickly gone.

Hoshi frowned some more and continued translating. Her face lit up. T'Pol watched her expectantly.

"I believe- I believe it's some sort of mechanical life form."

T'Pol turned sharply to tactical. "Life signs?"

"One, sir."

T'Pol studied the craft again. It was small, but the wing expanse was massive considering its size. The overall design seemed to rely more on aerodynamics for planetary atmospheres rather than sheer thruster power. T'Pol had not seen anything quite like it, save for the crude first attempts at flying vessels perhaps. The object was metallic in nature and mounted with what appeared to be weapons.

"It's communicating with us." Just as Hoshi made the announcement the Captain appeared on the bridge.

Archer's uniform was neat but his hair was somewhat untamed since he had been roused from sleep. Despite his rumpled appearance he seemed alert as he addressed T'Pol.

"Status."

T'Pol opened her mouth just as Hoshi began speaking.

"Subcommander, Captain, they're asking us not to shoot. They're asking us who we are."

Archer stepped over to his chair. "This is Captain Jonathan Archer of the starship Enterprise. Identify yourself."

With the recent hostilities they had run into the Captain's customary greeting had become clipped and suspicious. They could hardly blame him.

A surprisingly human voice issued over the comm. It was speaking clearly.

"This is Commander Luke Skywalker, Alliance."

Hoshi's eyes widened as she realized she was picking up his speech in perfect Standard. The comm's universal translator had not even activated.

Archer frowned at the little ship so far out in space. With all of the crippling anomalies peppering the expanse one would not expect so tiny a vessel to be shielded. It could have come from a small nearby planet, perhaps from the mysterious orbs they had been encountering.

"What's the Alliance? Are you Xindi?"

Hoshi still did not have time to explain that the language she was picking up was not Xindi at all, not even the primate dialect.

The speaker seemed to note the jagged tone the Captain used because he hastened to explain the situation.

"I'm not Xindi, I'm afraid I don't even know who they are. I seem to have become stranded." The Commander spoke with the slightest bit of uneasiness in his voice.

Archer frowned.

"Stranded how?"

Luke told him quickly about how he had been on his way to Tatooine when he had encountered unusual readings in subspace. His X-wing (T'Pol entered the type of ship into their database) had experienced some turbulence. Before he knew what had happened he had crossed some kind of threshold. His vessel had been dropped into a section of unknown space. He searched through his ship's data but had been unable to pinpoint a location. His droid had been just as stumped as he was and the Astromech had difficulty scanning the region.

Archer spoke up. "This region of space is intersected by anomalies. It interferes with ship sensors and must have effected yours as well."

Luke responded in an awed tone. "Anomalies? So that's what they were. I could feel some kind of abnormality-" He cut himself off abruptly.

Archer exchanged a glance with T'Pol. Malcolm appeared on the bridge to take his station. The tactical officer quickly sat down after his subordinate got up and left the bridge.

Clearing his throat, Archer's gaze was drawn back to the solitary X-wing. After a moment of mental deliberation he reached a decision.

"Why don't you come aboard? We could fill you in on the region with what we know on our star charts. We haven't heard of a planet called Tatooine but we may be able to locate it with each other's help."

The X-wing had remained still throughout their conversation. The small ship had not made any threatening moves or summoned backup. Archer did not have the feeling it was a trap. Just something about this...Luke…rang with honesty. It was the way he spoke and just the strange feeling Archer got from him. He made a mental note to ask the alien's name once more when they made contact. The universal translator might have made a malfunction to give the Commander such a human sounding name.

The person's voice had seemed surprisingly human as well, with no heavy alien accent undercurrent. Archer wondered if this person looked as human as he sounded.

"Do you have a hanger bay that I can land in? I'm not familiar with the schematics of your ship."

Archer leaned over the comms and gave the pilot instructions. He was succinct but Luke seemed to understand him easily. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Malcolm summon his team to hanger bay 2 over the tactical comms. Within minutes their new guest had arrived, his X-wing inside the much more massive Enterprise.

* * *

Archer found it best not to make assumptions when making first contact. If the new being noticed his expression or feeling of surprise or discomfort their relations could be clouded by preconceptions. The Captain usually kept himself blank, as friendly as possible with an atmosphere of formal courtesy (unless one was dealing with a Tellarite of course)

When Archer arrived in the hanger bay the new arrival was already climbing out of the ship. He had stripped off a bright orange flight suit and bulky helmet with ease. He was currently holding a brief conversation with something in the ship. It was a separate entity, a silver and blue dome that swiveled around and seemed to examine its surroundings.

Luke was like nothing he could have anticipated. He was slight, with long blond hair and a boyish face. His petite frame was further accentuated by the black attire he was wearing. The fabric seemed to have an almost military cut to it. Archer was further pointed towards a military background with the way Luke carried himself, agile and confident but in a ritualistic manner.

He came to the bottom of the ladder Archer's crew set up for him and stepped onto the polished floor. Luke walked slowly up to them, eyeing Archer and his entourage with something like curiosity.

Archer stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Welcome aboard."

Luke mirrored him and clasped his hand with his gloved one. Archer was momentarily startled to find it ice cold. Nevertheless, he shook hands with the young stranger.

"Can I interest you in breakfast with myself and my senior officers?" It was the middle of the night but an early breakfast could be a tempting repast for their guest.

Archer studied him while he talked. The commander did not carry a visible weapon, though there was an empty holster on his belt and a bright silver tube swinging close to his right hip. The cylinder seemed fairly innocuous but Archer knew that Malcolm was probably visually evaluating it as they spoke.

When Luke accepted, Archer introduced Malcolm. Luke reached out to shake his hand as well. Malcolm's reaction to the icy hand was more apparent. The corner of his mouth jerked upward and their contact was cut short after one brief shake.

Luke noticed his reaction. His face turned apologetic.

"Sorry, prosthetic. I'm not used to it getting cold."

Malcolm's lips parted and he seemed to be trying to keep himself from staring at the convincing looking human hand.

"Not a problem," he mumbled.

Archer smiled in a friendly way and clapped his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Let me show you around. It's not often that we get visitors out here. Or we could make our way up to the Captain's mess..."

Archer carried on with the usual niceties, every once in a while asking questions. The young man acted like most other species did with this situation. He was polite, realizing that the Captain was playing host as protocol dictated of him. The meat of their conversation would have to wait for later but for now Luke complied with the courtesies.

Malcolm followed them, stance a little less tense. His stare was wary but also intrigued. Archer steered their conversation to topics like what Luke's tastes were so chef knew what to serve and the officers he still had to meet. So far it looked like first contact was going well.

* * *

1 more chap is left of this short fic. I wasn't going to put this story in the crossovers section to be lost so I hope it is an entertaining read.


	2. Chapter 2

The next couple of days were surprisingly uneventful. While the Enterprise glided further into the Delphic Expanse they kept an eye out for inhabited planets. They also looked for Luke's point of entrance into the system with their limited sensors. Though they had so far been unsuccessful in finding either they turned their attention to getting to know their guest. Luke was friendly, intelligent, and to all points and purposes just like a human being. He ended up revealing to Hoshi that he had his own form of universal translator, or translation matrix as he had called it. It had been implanted in him since birth. It needed tune ups now and then but for the most part he was able to understand a majority of species and their dialects.

Luke seemed to mix well with everyone, even Reed and Hayes simultaneously, which was notoriously difficult to do. Trip had not attempted such a feat though perhaps it was because he had not endeavored to do so.

Trip was still disconsolate about what had happened to Elizabeth during the attack on Earth. He had not made amends with Malcolm since he had first shouted at him. To go so long without friendly contact was unlike him but these days everything was very much unlike him. When faced with an amiable young guest anyone would expect Trip to reject the company, and rightly so while feeling this numbness to everyone and everything. If his friends could not make him feel something than surely this stranger could not make his way into the empty chasm in his chest.

Trip had been grudgingly polite as Starfleet Protocol dictated, anything less would have caused an incident and he had enough to do keeping the ship tuned up and protected. Despite himself he found the courtesies coming more naturally. Perhaps it was instinctual, after all Trip usually prided himself on getting along with new individuals, even homicidal aliens bent on preventing his repairs to a broken transceiver as had happened with Zho'Kaan. This time he had neither the time nor inclination to get to know this person. He found himself interested in them anyway.

Luke had taken a particular fascination in the ship and its systems. Instead of condescendingly pointing out Enterprise's flaws like most spacefaring species did, he hung on to Trip's every word when describing the plasma manifolds and warp reactor. He was inquisitive and skilled at listening.

It was not uncommon to walk into engineering and find two blond heads bent over a consul deep in discussion. Luke even helped him with minor repairs, having a dexterity that Trip had seldom seen. He had a lot of talented staff but engineers of Luke's caliber were rare. If given enough data about the inner mechanisms of a system Luke was able to repair them without exception.

Luke enjoyed sharing his friends' many exploits on the Falcon and the battles they had won. In return Trip told him about their travels and finally what they were doing in the expanse. Trip told him that they were attempting to save their home planet, to destroy a monstrous weapon that would obliterate Earth and all its inhabitants. Luke listened grimly, mouth set in a firm line. His respectful silence encouraged Trip to talk in a way that had been impossible around Jon, Malcolm, and Hoshi. Luke was a stranger yet and there were no repercussions if he cursed the Xindi and the circumstances that had led him here.

Trip even liked his droid, Artoo, though he got the feeling the affection was one sided.

The dome shaped machine seemed to follow Luke everywhere. Upon their first meeting Trip said something along the lines of: "What I would do to get a look at your circuits..." He may have waxed poetic about the technology making up the interior of the droid.

Artoo had been less inclined to tolerate his presence after the incident. Luke patiently explained that droids were sentient beings in his universe and that Artoo was a friend that had saved his life many times. Trip told him that though robotics were advanced on his Earth they had not reached that level of sentience yet. He gave Artoo a respectfully wide berth but still marveled at its tech.

Luke proved to have more talents than listening. When next they encountered an anomaly his help was invaluable. Luke knew of the anomalies, for he had mentioned them when he first encountered the Enterprise. How his small craft had survived the encounter was a mystery, but it did not remain one for long.

Trip knew that the young man was skilled in a way that was almost supernatural. He had made mention of his religion before, though Trip's views on how it was just a bunch of hocus pocus were challenged on more than one occasion. The mystical "force" seemed to feature in his tales and explanations of the universe in an unusually satisfying way. It explained things like how their guest could manipulate matter and even brush his presence against the minds of others though he did not make use of that skill on Enterprise.

Luke's true power was revealed in an incident during dinner after a busy day of repairs. The anomaly came without warning and their sensors had not picked up on it even as it started warping and stretching the hull.

They had been in the mess hall when the first wave started to hit. It flexed up through the floor and knocked over a table. Several crewman shrieked and leaped up. Everything became a desperate rush to get of the way and to get others to safety. Everyone knew how dangerous and deadly the anomalies could be. When Luke sat still Trip was ready to wrench him out of his seat. What he saw next made him pause and his grasping hand stilled.

Luke shut his eyes, an oddly serene look crossing his features. He extended a hand discreetly under the table towards the chaos. Hoshi, who was only a table away, had seen his action too. They both watched mesmerized as the flexing of the hull reduced and reversed. It went back the way it had come as if it had never been there, only reflective steel flooring.

Hoshi's jaw dropped a little and Trip's eyes widened. Luke's hand closed and sank back into its relaxed position. He opened his eyes to see his two new friends staring at him in shock. A tiny amused expression flickered over his features before he managed to dampen it.

"It seems I can help with your passage somehow."

His wry remark was almost lost in the sudden uproar of chatter from the crew in mess hall as they recovered their wits. The people that had been at the damaged table found other seats, still too shaken to chance fate in the same spot.

"I- Hell, can you stay?"

Luke looked up at Trip quickly in surprise. Most people would have been intimidated from that show of power or would have at least questioned how he had accomplished the impossible. The invitation from out of nowhere threw the Jedi for a loop.

Hoshi's mouth closed and she was starting to smile a little. Luke recovered from his stupefied state to raise his eyebrows. Though the moment was by no means weighted, it caused Luke to pause and think. He let the possibility tickle his brain indulgently for just a moment. What would such a fate be like, exploring the galaxy and rescuing this race of humans? The Empire's might and tumultuous downfall were events that were nonexistent here. He was surrounded by friends, good friends like Biggs and Han only with different faces and different memories. It was by no means the same or similar but he could not pretend that it was at least a little tempting...

* * *

After a couple of weeks the Enterprise picked up some unusual readings from an empty region of the expanse. Their scanners showed a sort of stretched section of space like the circumference around a wormhole. It was covered in dense nebulous material. The coordinates matched the rough estimate Luke had given them for his entry point into the Delphic Expanse. It was with a somewhat heavy heart Archer informed their guest he had found the way back to his universe and home.

Luke almost seemed to take the news with some qualms too. He brightened at the prospect of seeing Han, Chewie, and Leia again even if their reunion would no doubt be overshadowed by the upheaval of the disbanding Empire. He had heard of factions still remaining loyal to their old ideals and fighting the rebels and innocent civilians. He would be needed on all fronts.

Luke readied for his departure. He had few possessions to take with him but Archer insisted that he take a few parting gifts. He packed it all up and gave his temporary quarters a last look. He would miss this quirky ship and all of of its peculiarities. The Falcon was a unique ship but he had still formed an attachment to this sleek specimen of Earth space travel. He patted a bulkhead outside of his vacated quarters. A smile quirked over his lips and as his organic hand came in contact with the cold material. During the action a faint idea formed in his mind. There was something he could give back to this crew and this ship, and in light of the inspiration he decided on a course of action.

He shut his eyes and lay both hands on the bulkhead. After a few moments energies wove around him and through him causing a sharp and powerful sensation. They came into contact with the ship, running through her stern and along her hull in buzzing vibrato. He poured life and light into the connection and manipulated the form until it settled into place like a plaster mold. He took several steps back to examine his handiwork and the function it provided. The ship's framework was strengthened by an invisible system running through it like a ghostly echo only felt by force users and force sensitives.

A couple of people on board might notice it, like Subcommander T'Pol and Lieutenant Reed. Trip would not notice its presence per say but the shield would work particularly in his favor like the way the force singled out Han and considered his will.

Luke had left the Enterprise an extra shield against the anomalies. It would not repel the cripplingly large waves but the small abnormalities could be rebuffed for months, even years. He turned his back on the thrumming web and walked quietly down the corridor.

He was greeted with a large send off in the landing bay by the senior staff and several crewmen. He shook their hands and said his goodbyes in a bittersweet sort of departure. He wished them a successful mission and a safe return home. They sincerely wished the same for him.

Then he left the Enterprise a little lighter and a little stronger than he had found it.

* * *

The End.

* * *

Was this story just an attempt to explain how the anomalies seemed to be reduced at certain points in s3? Perhaps.


End file.
